1. Field
This invention relates to methods and systems to determine the location of an arc fault between adjacent wires in a wiring harness, such as used to provide power to widely separated locations and components on an aircraft. More particularly, by utilizing length dependent properties of the wires, such as resistance and inductance, the distance to a remote parallel arc-fault may be calculated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aircraft require electrical power delivered to widely separated locations throughout the aircraft. Flight crucial circuits include external lighting, instrument panels and communications. Non-flight critical circuits include in-flight entertainment systems and galleys. One or more generators on the plane satisfy the aircraft electrical system requirements and typically produce 115 volts AC, 400 hertz. Some present day electrical components utilize 28 volts DC. Other voltage requirements, such as 270 volts DC and variable frequencies, are being considered for future aircraft. The electrical power is delivered from the generators to the electrical systems through wiring harnesses that contain bundles of wires. Such harnesses may include in excess of 50 wires and have wires of variable lengths, from under 5 feet up to several hundred feet in length.
The bundled wires are individually coated with a polymer insulator, such as polyimide. Over time, and due to environmental factors such as heat, the insulation may wear away or crack exposing an encased conductor. If two conductors are exposed in close proximity, an electric current may arc from one conductor to the other. Arcing may also occur between a single exposed conductor and the airframe. This type of fault is referred to as a parallel arc fault. Arcing can degrade insulation of adjacent wires and is a fire hazard. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the arc as quickly as possible. Thermal circuit breakers were developed to protect the wire insulation on aircraft from damage due to overheating conditions caused by excessive over-current conditions. The thermal circuit breakers are generally not effective to protect against an arc fault. The arc fault is often an intermittent problem occurring during a specific condition, such as in-flight vibration of an aircraft frame. The arc is transient, frequently on the order of milliseconds, such that a current overload and thermal increase does not occur, rendering a thermal circuit breaker ineffective.
A circuit interrupter that detects an arc fault and interrupts the flow of current is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,101 to Brooks, et al. The patent discloses a method to detect an arc fault by monitoring the rate of change of electrical current as a function of time (di/dt) and generating a pulse each time di/dt is outside a predetermined threshold. An arc fault signal is sent to a circuit breaker or other safety device if the number of pulses per a specified time interval exceeds a threshold. U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,101 is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
An electronic circuit breaker that detects arc faults enhances aircraft safety, but does not assist in determining the location of the fault. Wiring bundles on an aircraft may extend for several hundred feet and are typically inaccessible, such as under floorboards or extending through wing struts. Locating a fault is time consuming and requires considerable effort to access the wire bundle. U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,640 to Engel, et al. discloses a method to determine a distance to an arc fault that employs the value of the peak arc current, the wire resistance per unit length, and a nominal peak line to neutral voltage value. A constant arc voltage or an arc voltage as a function of the value of the peak current is then provided to calculate the distance from the arc fault detector to the arc fault. U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,640 is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
Using wire resistance to locate an arc fault is of limited value. The magnitude of resistance of the wires is typically in the milliohm range while the resistance of the arc is unpredictable and variable and can be from zero to tens of ohms. As a result, this method is prone to large error.
There remains, therefore, a need for a method and system to more accurately locate an arc fault to thereby more readily facilitate repair of damaged insulation and wires.